It doesn’t take long for Milan to realize that all the rumours about Lord Raphael are true. Reclusive, distant, frigid. Milan finds himself unwelcome in what he must now call his new home. He’s used to fighting for what he wants—but can he survive a husband as cruel as Lord Raphael?
Being bonded to one who rejects you is a painful thing. Will Milan be able to win his husband’s regard? What terrible secret is Lord Raphael keeping, and will Milan be able to discover it before it’s too late?
Or will Milan perish along with his heart?
Honeythorn is set in an AU with a regency feel and a healthy side of steampunk tech. I really enjoyed the world the author built and she did a great job of working it all into the story organically so I got a good “visual” of the setting. And the setting is just as much a character as the MC’s and secondary characters. Rather than a gender divide between men and women, the society is split between Alphas and Omegas where the Omegas are not typically treated as equals.
The war has ended and to keep the peace the monarchy of each country has agreed to arranged marriages between the royal families. Milan, an Omega from the warm and sunny south is paired with Raphael, an Alpha from the cold and frigid North. The two of them are opposites personified. Milan may be an Omega, but he’s no shrinking violet and he’s determined to make the most of his new life and be a good Omega to the citizens of Raphael’s realm.
In the beginning their relationship was . . . not good. Raphael was really a dick, that’s basically the best way to describe it. There were enough glimpses of interactions with his subjects to show me that he was really a good guy underneath the prickly exterior, but his dynamic with Milan said otherwise. It was obvious he had a backstory that broke him, but being that the story is told completely from Milan’s perspective I didn’t get those pieces until much later.
So, the first half of the book was the push/pull of an arranged marriage between an Alpha and an Omega who had no hope of ever falling into like with one another much less love. Raphael comes across as just plain cruel for awhile and I have to say, it was a period where I enjoyed hating him along with Milan. You know how that goes? You and an MC get on the same hate train for another character? It’s fun.
Raphael’s cruelty was born of ignorance though and when shit officially got real for Milan and Raphael had his nonsense called out for what it was, he turned the corner and became the character he was meant to be all along. His backstory came out and so did the romance. It was hard won and well earned by the time the two of them started “courting”. There was some good steam before the romance came along, but the steam in the second half was so much better because the feels were finally along for the ride too.
Milan is a great character and once Raphael got his head out of his ass so was he. If enemies to lovers is your jam, then this book will be your crack. The enemy part was so well done and visceral, I really DID NOT like Raphael, but the second half romance was even better and sold me on Raphael eventually. I also swooned over how very protective of Raphael Milan was especially considering their Alpha/Omega roles. I think that’s what I appreciated about Honeythorn so much; while the trope is not new, the delivery was fresh and fun to read.
Quick little paragraph of love for the cover of Honeythorn. Look at it. Look how pretty it is! It also captured the mood of the book really, really well. That’s Milan and one of his beautiful suits right there, no doubt about it. And there he is sitting in his favorite room of the castle. I do appreciate the author making him so much more than just a pretty face with a side of sass. His intelligence and empathy towards others made me love him all the more.
The secondary characters were very strong and I enjoyed reading the interactions between them and the MCs. Secondary characters with that much depth can be helpful when getting to know MCs with so much story to tell so I’m being shown who they are and getting to know them at the same pace the secondary characters are and it makes it so much more interesting than being told who they are.
I would love a short follow up with Milan and Raphael (and their puppies) to see them settled into their HEA. Once the BIG conflict is solved there’s some downtime for them, but I wanted some more. Mostly just because I’m greedy and I was enjoying the warm fuzzies of their relationship.
**A copy of this story was provided for an honest review**
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